Meet the Author

The FermentedlyChallenged blog has been retired since the end of October 2016. It has been a great 9 year run. Thanks to all the readers and brewery staff for all your support in the past. I'm living in the Denver metro area and working in the Cable TV industry now. Cheers and enjoy beer responsibly. Follow along on social media - @ChipperDave on Twitter and on Facebook.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Today is No-Brainer Day. A No-Brainer is an activity that requires the most minimum of thought. Today you are encouraged to take a break and do some kind of activity that gives your brain a rest. Perhaps sitting back in a comfortable chair and enjoying a delicious Colorado craft brew. The only thought you'll have to use is which of the thousands of beer choices to select. Here's what's happening around the Colorado beerosphere today Wednesday, February 27th, 2013.

Metro Denver

Black Shirt Brewing (Denver) - The brewers over at BSB want you to know that they were up early and brewing up some of your favorite Red saison and carbonating more of their Imperial Red Rye IPA. Today they will open up at 5:00pm and have the Texorado BBQ parked outside for your food needs. Have a Red Ale and some brisket and wings. It's a no-brainer!

Kokopelli Beer Company (Westminster) - Yesterday, owner Christine Wares signed on the dotted line on their new lease. Their application for licensing to the TTB was sent in yesterday as well. Next up is talking with the City of Westminster today. Progress is being made! Look for an opening sometime this summer if all goes well. Follow their progress on Facebook.Rock Bottom Brewery (Denver) - Join Rock Bottom this Thursday, February 28th for the annual tapping of FIRE CHIEF ALE. Their day is going to be full of great events to kick off this fun promotion! Starting at 11 am – 1 pm Denver Fire Fighters serving lunch & Colorado Fire Fighter Calendars available for purchase and signing! Then at 5:30 pm take a ride to the sky in Denver Fire’s “bucket” truck. Hop in the bucket and go up seven stories high. Then at 6 pm they'll tap FIRE CHIEF ALE. They’ll even serve a complimentary pint of Fire Chief Ale (to those 21 & over) until 6:30 pm.

Castle Rock Homebrew Supply (Castle Rock) - Announcing the opening of Castle Rock's newest homebrew store - Castle Rock Homebrew Supply. They are located at 1043 Park Street in Castle Rock. Visit them on the web at www.castlerockhomebrew.com or on Facebook.

Hall Brewing Company (Parker) - Tried a Hall beer yet? Join them tonight at Old Chicago (Arapahoe Crossings) for a pint of their Farmhouse Red. They'll also be tapping a few of their other beers and will have a bunch of giveaways to boot. The tastings start at 6:00pm until their beer runs out.

Prost Brewing (Denver) - Prost is running a contest to name their four big fermenters. Three of them are 70 barrel size and one is 80 barrel size. Send you fermenter names to kevin@prostbrewing.com or bring them into the brewery. The Winner will win a growler a month for one year! Hurry, contest ends soon.

River North Brewery (Denver) - Canned beer is in the future for River North. The TTB just approved two new beer can label designs for their River North Ale (red hoppy ale) and for River North White Ale. Look for these cans to be coming to Denver-area store shelves later this year.

Elk Mountain Brewing (Parker) - Today if Firkin Wednesday at Elk Mountain. Stop in and try one of their Coffee Brown Ale and some of Nola's New Orlean's cuisine for dinner tonight.

The Very Nice Brewing Company (Nederland) - Back in November, the brewery ordered a 3.5 barrel brewing system and Very Nice Brewing reports that system has now arrived. This will go a long way to alleviate some of the shortages of beer they've had since their grand opening. Also, a reminder about the upcoming Frozen Dead Guys Days (March 8-10, 2013). In anticipation of that event, they will not be able to offer growler fills this weekend (March 1st-3rd) so that they can ensure as much beer as possible to help people celebrate the old man occupying the shed in Ned. Tap room will of course be open as usual, just no growler fills!

Left Hand Brewing (Longmont) - Today in the tap room they are releasing Ambidextrous Step 3 - it's an imperial herb ale made with ginger, but you can call it the GREAT Juju.

Northern Colorado

Echo Brewing Company (Frederick) - Tomorrow, February 28th, is BBQ night at Echo Brewing. They will have Shuffler Brothers BBQ on site from 5pm to 8pm serving up some tasty BBQ. Stay and listen to live music from Joel Kachel at 7pm. Follow Echo Brewing on Facebook for details on their upcoming St. Patrick's Day event and an event for Colorado Craft Beer Week (March 18-24).

New Belgium (Ft. Collins) - Back for its 2nd year, Dig Pale Ale is now available. [Press Release] For New Belgium Brewing, the unearthing of Dig Pale Ale signifies that warmer weather is just around the corner. New Belgium’s spring seasonal, Dig, offers a hearty list of hops, measured crispness and unpretentious appeal. Dig begins with Sorachi Ace hops, which provides a zingy lemon aroma, followed by Nelson Sauvin hops with bursts of passion fruit, mango and peach. Also present in this pale ale are Cascade and Centennial hops. Dig is available in most New Belgium markets through April and ABV is 5.6 percent. “Dig brings together flavors that awaken the senses as we prepare for all things spring,” said New Belgium Assistant Brewmaster Grady Hull. “In addition, Dig is a nod to our farming friends who work hard to deliver the ingredients we use and appreciate every day.”

Grimm Brothers Brewhouse (Loveland) - It's one of their biggest beers yet. Later this week, Grimm Brothers will debut "The 13th Door" - a German Barley Wine. This brew is a big malt focused beer that features a strong alcohol warmth and sweet smooth malty flavors. The malty aroma is balanced by a pleasant bouquet of noble German hops. The 13th Door weighs in at 12% ABV and 90 IBUs so watch out! Look for it on tap starting as early as tomorrow February 28th. Sorry, this won't be bottled - tap only.

The Mayor of Old Town (Ft. Collins) - Did you see Churchill play on Jimmy Kimmel last night? 99.9 The Point, The Mayor and Avery Brewing welcome Churchill for a free live acoustic show tomorrow, February 28th around 5:00pm at The Mayor of Old Town! All Avery beers will be on special for $3.00. Here's a video of their performance last night.

Black Bottle Brewery (Ft. Collins) - We all knew when Black Bottle opened late last year that they were going to brew up some beers that were different. Coming this next Friday, March 8th is the release of their Sex Panther - a Quadricorn IPA that weighs in at a HUGE 21.5% ABV! It also has reportedly 1,000,000 IBUs (not really, but it's dang hoppy). Bring your designated drivers for this one!

Verboten Brewing (Loveland) - Today at 3pm Verboten will be tapping their Blueberry Wheat. They had a naming contest for this beer. The top two choices were "I'm Your Huckelberry" or "Blue Steel". Which name won? Stop in and find out!

City Star Brewing (Berthoud) - It's TRIVIA night at the brewery tonight from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. They'll stay open til 10pm. Get your team together. Winners get $20 in beer! Get your geek on.

Funkwerks (Ft. Collins) - Time once again for their featured keg of the week! This time they're tapping Green Tea Saison. Stop in for a taste while the keg lasts!

Southern Front Range

Trinity Brewing (Colorado Springs) - Today Trinity is brewing up their Wee Banshee, an Irish Red aged on heather tips. Get ready to try some of this for St. Patrick's Day!

Bars, Restaurants and Misc.

Colorado Craft Beer Week (March 18-24) - Did you know that the official beer of Colorado Craft Beer Week is being made by a collaborative effort with 7 female brewers from around Colorado? The beer will be a Belgian Pale Ale and will be a tap-only brew available during March 18-24th. Brewers include: Bess Dougherty of Wynkoop, Natalie Lesko of Funkwerks, Sydney Skilken from Denver’s TRVE Brewing, Linsey Cornish of Odell Brewing, Reva Golden from Twisted Pine, Ashleigh Carter of Prost Brewing, and Melissa Antone and Sara Ferber from Avery Brewing.

Upcoming Brewery Openings (Colorado) - According to the latest records, there are 5 breweries slated to open in Colorado in March 2013 (pending final approvals). These are:
- BREW Pub & Kitchen - Durango, CO.
- The Brew on Broadway (The BoB) - Denver, CO.
- Lost Highway Brewing - Denver, CO. (a Cheeky Monk spin-off)
- Beer By Design Brewery - Northglenn, CO.
Also, coming up in April, look for Colorado+ Liquid Art Works to open in Wheat Ridge, CO. Check out all of the upcoming Colorado breweries in the Breweries in Development page.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (Littleton) - This beer-tapping movie house just announce their bottle and can beer selection! To compliment their 32 Colorado taps they've added an equally large selection of beers from some of your favorite breweries around the nation and abroad. Read their blog post for the full list.

Live Music - Beer and music go great together and many Colorado breweries and watering holes offer live entertainment every day. Check out the Colorado Brewery Music Listings and find who's playing at your favorite brewery or beer bar. Updated daily.

Like us on Facebook - There's even more Colorado beer happenings and discussions on the Fermentedly Challenged Facebook Page. Find recaps, special offers, and tips that you won't find on the blog. "Like" us and get even more soon after it happens. Thanks for helping us grow to over 1400+ "Likes" in 2013!

Colorado Beer News is published daily (Monday through Friday) with craft beer stories as they break from newsletters, emails and social media sites. Stop back here often for all the latest. This news is intended for audiences of legal drinking age (21+). If you'd like to subscribe to this daily by email, sign-up here. Please, always drink responsibly and use a designated driver.